Cameron White says his removal as Oz Twentycaptain helped resurrect his career

Colombo, Sep.23: Australian cricketer Cameron White has said that his removal as Twenty20 captain left him understandably crushed, but also helped to resurrect his career.

''''It definitely helped in the situation I was in at the end of the summer because I was able to go away to IPL [Indian Premier League] and county cricket and, I guess on a selfish note, just worry about my performance, really, and not worry about all the things that go with the captaincy. From that point of view it was probably a good thing,'''' White told The Sunday Age.

That White is here in Sri Lanka, crunching cricket balls out of the training nets at the Colts ground in a vibrant pocket of Colombo, suggests the plan he made at the end of a horrendous Australian season, to rebuild his game through the IPL and English county cricket, has worked.

In fact, White believes the journey is far from complete.

Coach Mickey Arthur last week revealed he was in Australia''s plans for the 2015 World Cup. It was a big vote of confidence in the 29-year-old, who made an encouraging start to the World Twenty20 with 22 not out in the first game against Ireland.

And the man who replaced him as Twenty20 captain, George Bailey, believes he has become a more outgoing leader since he was relieved of the official title.

''''I really see some confidence in ''Whitey'' and I think probably not being captain has allowed him to flourish, as silly as it sounds, as a leader. I think he is a lot more comfortable to be himself and come out and talk to guys, and he''s certainly been a big help to me,'''' Bailey said.

White, skipper of Victoria for almost a decade, doesn''t believe he has changed much without the national Twenty20 captaincy.

''''I''ve always thought it was something that never affected the cricket I played, it was something I enjoyed, but at that particular time, yeah, I can see what George is saying.

''''When you''re not captain you can relax a bit, you don''t have all the outside, away-from-cricket things that go on, especially when you''re captain of an Australian team. So I still feel within the group I''m one of the leaders, helping out George where I can, and the younger boys, too. I''ve played a bit of cricket now and there''s a few young faces around,” said White.